​Providing options, support and information to Alaskans affected by sexual violence for more than 35 years.

How You Can Talk to Your Kids about Personal Safety

Create and Honest, Open Environment- Kids look to their parents to help guide them. Be supportive and positive. Listening and taking their feeling into consideration. You may not have all the answers, being honest about that can go a long way!

Communicate Your Values- Communicating your values clearly can help your kids make smarter and more thoughtful decisions when they face tricky situations.

Be Patient- Try and resist the urge to rush through the tougher conversations with your kids. Most kids need to hear information repeated in small doses, for it to really sink in. Keep talking to your kids, your patience and persistence will pay off.

Use Every Day Opportunities to Talk - When going to swim class to talk about the private parts of your body that are covered by your bathing suit.

Talk Often-The conversation about personal safety should be ongoing, open, and casual.

Consider How You Want the Child to Experience the Conversation- Do you want them to feel confident? Affirmed? Cared for? This intention will provide the building blocks for the spirit of the conversation

You Don’t Have to Cover Everything All at Once- In fact it is better that the personal safety conversation be an ongoing dialog.

Find Out What Your Child Knows Already-If your child asks you a difficult question, you might simply ask “what have you heard?” This allows your kiddo to tell you what they understand - or misunderstand and can give you a great starting point for the conversation.

Take a Break and Listen to Your Child- Specific actions like making eye contact, kneeling down and even tilting your head shows that you are listening!

Use the Proper Names for Body Parts- Giving cute names for body parts can send a message that you are uncomfortable talking about them.

Initiate Conversations With Your Child- Even if your kids are comfortable approaching you, don’t wait for kids to ask you about personal safety, chances are they have questions but may not know how to ask.

STAR’s Education Department strives to present up-to-date and age-appropriate safety information to as many children as possible each year. We all want children to be safe at home and at school...personal safety presentations provide kids with tools they can use to protect themselves from many childhood related dangers such as sexual abuse, bullying, and how to keep themselves and their friends safe.

During STAR presentations children learn:• The three kinds of touches: “safe,” “ouch” and “secret” • The difference between a “secret” touch and a “clean and healthy” touch• The safety rule “No, Go, Tell”… say “no” in a loud voice, “go” away as soon as it’s safe to do so and “tell” a trusted adult • Identify trusted adults from home, school and community

These lessons give children a better understanding of safe versus unsafe behaviors and a common language to ask for help when it's needed.